An Indonesian man accused of illegally smuggling 5,284 turtles has now reportedly been pronounced innocent and is allowed to leave Bali where he was detained.
Tumiran, an Indonesian passenger on a Garuda flight from Papua was headed to his home in Banyuwangi, East Java, when he was hit with charges of smuggling turtles.
When investigated in the Ngurah Rai Airport area on Thursday, Tumiran says he was confused and claimed he would never want to do such a smuggling operation to “torment” his wife and children, reports Kompas.
Kompas further reports that it turns out Tumiran was framed. The actual turtle smugglers oh so creatively put Tumiran’s name on the package to pass the contraband and divert blame from themselves if the turtles were to be detected—which they were. Along with Tumiran’s name were two others (which may have been fake as well): Zunita and a bule name, Mardon Malkon Anthony.
Finally, after a whole ordeal of an embarrassing investigation, police asserted Tumiran was actually innocent and let the man go. We’re sure after this traveling nightmare, Tumiran never wants to see another turtle again.
Photo: Flickr
